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"The beginning is
always today."
–Mary Shelley
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In an earlier issue, I shared the story of how Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) encountered a young fan who liked the author's artwork so much, he ate it. We should all be so lucky. In today's competitive marketplace, it can be a real challenge for artists to build a base of so-called 'rabid' fans who love their work. But I have some encouraging news…
The Dog Ate My Artwork!
Actually, it's a recurring problem at my house. And to make matters worse, we have a new little addition to our family in the form of a very ornery little black puppy who may or may not be completely, wonderfully insane! ;-) So, not to brag here, but I now actually have TWO fans, er… dogs—who simply can't get enough of my artwork. Apparently, they love it. And by love, I mean they love to EAT it. Which is exactly what happened to several of my cards this past Christmas (see evidence of the carnage, below.)
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Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad as "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 2014" when my 110 lb. goldendoodle gobbled up two entire, finished paintings.
Here's a composite sketch of the new little perpetrator (a drawing which, ironically, was the gift accompanying the mangled card!)
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"Happiness is
a warm puppy."
–Charles M. Schulz
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Today is New Year's Day, but as I write this, it's still the tail end of 2015, so I'm in a 'year in review' mood. By the way, for those unfamiliar with the concept of 'Father Time' in the illustration above, you can learn more about it by clicking here.
1. According to Publisher's Weekly, these are The Best Books of 2015. (This is a different list than one I posted earlier re: children's books, fyi.)
2. The winners of the 2015 National Geographic Photo Contest.
3. How do the folks at New Yorker magazine measure online engagement? They track the *time* people spend reading their online articles. Here are the fifteen most-read magazine stories of 2015. And here's every cartoon they published in 2015. And here's a lot of other really interesting 'Year in Review' stuff from the magazine.
4. And from the New York Times, a look at the year's notable obituaries, which include Frances Kroll Ring, the last personal secretary to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nicholas Winton, a British man who rescued 669 children from the Nazis but who was so modest, he didn't mention it for nearly 50 years, and Don Featherstone, the inventor who gave us the pink plastic flamingo.
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5. Well, we just had the first real snow of the season, which started me thinking about—and drawing—snowflakes. By the way, snowflakes are weird! Did you know half of the world's population has never seen snow up close? Or that about a million billion snowflakes fall each second, averaged over a typical year? You can find more cool (see what I did there?) snow facts here and here, and watch a snowflake form in slow motion right before your eyes, here.
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Oh, and don't forget:
The 6th and final season of Downton Abbey begins January 3rd. I don't know about you, but in my house, this is big news. I'm surrounded by anglophiles, one of whom traveled all the way from Scotland to watch the season premier with us. ;-)
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"Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier'…"
–Alfred Lord Tennyson
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"I believe that every human has a finite amount of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises."
–Neil Armstrong
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We Have a Winner!
The winner of December's fine art print giveaway is… DRUMROLL PLEASE… Hannelore from Kansas City! The matted, limited edition print pictured below will be signed and shipped early next week. Don't feel bad if you didn't win this time – all subscribers have a chance to win each and every month. (See this month's giveaway below.) Congratulations, Hannelore!
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January Print Giveaway
Each month, we give away a signed, limited edition fine art print to one loyal subscriber of this newsletter. Current subscribers are automatically entered, so if you're not already subscribed, click here or on the orange button below. Winners are selected at random during the last week of each month, notified via email (so be sure to keep an eye on your inbox!) and announced in the first newsletter issue of the following month. Here's January's print…
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My Garden
This print started out as many do — a gift for one of my children.
- SIZE: Artwork is 8 x 10 inches with a 2 inch white border to accommodate signature and numbering (fits in standard 11 x 14 inch frame).
- EDITION: 1 out of a total of 20 artist proofs.
- MATERIALS: Hand-signed, limited edition, Giclée fine art print, matted but unframed.
- PAPER: Printed on Hahnemuhle William Turner — a 310g, acid-free, natural white, mould-made paper with 100% rag content (highly archival).
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Not Subscribed Yet?
Signing up is easy, there's zero risk, the newsletter's free, and you may unsubscribe at any time. Click the button below. When you receive the confirmation email, click the appropriate link, and then just sit back and wait for your first issue to arrive!
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"If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is."
–Charles Bukowski
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Until Next Week…
Speaking of Charles Bukowski… many years ago, when my son was six or seven, we belonged to a health club where he attended a week-long summer day camp. One afternoon we got a phone call informing us that our kindergartener was standing at the smoothie bar buying drinks for all his little friends. Of course, I immediately thought of Mickey Rourke as Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of Charles Bukowski in this scene from Barfly… (go ahead and click it – you know you want to!)
To all my friends: Happy New Year, everyone!
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Previous Newsletter Issues
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Are you unable to see the images in this email?
I'm more of an illustrator than I am a writer, so if your email client blocks the images in The Happiness of Art—you're missing out. This quick tutorial tells you how to enable images in most of the popular email clients, including AOL, Yahoo and Gmail.
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If you enjoy The Happiness of Art and know others who might find it interesting, please share it with them. It's easy: just click the appropriate button below and share via Facebook, Twitter and/or email. Thank you!
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"Just finished my second edition of The Happiness of Art and I enjoyed it even more than the first. :) I love to read it and can see/hear your humor, kind heart and passion for family and art coming through. I will continue to look forward to this lovely bright spot in my day every Friday and share!!!"
–Linn | Portland, OR
Suggestions? I'd appreciate your feedback: deuhlig@deuhlig.com.
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About Me
Hi. I’m D.E.Uhlig. I’m an artist, author, husband and father.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved to draw. Years ago I gave my wife a hand-drawn card for our anniversary, and she loved it so much she made me promise to ALWAYS hand-draw her cards. Then our three kids made me promise to do the same with their birthday cards. And when I posted some of my drawings online, people began asking how they could purchase my work—so I created this newsletter. I believe in something I like to call “The Happiness of Art” and I hope it makes you smile.
Official Bio
D.E.Uhlig is an award-winning illustrator whose work has appeared in numerous publications including the Kansas City Star, Christian Science Monitor, University Daily Kansan, Editorial Humor Magazine, and World Policy Journal. Commercial illustration and design clients over the years have included Samsung, Sprint, and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, among others—and his Starbucks RedCup illustrations have been featured on the company's Pinterest and Facebook pages. In 1989, Mr. Uhlig co-founded Uhlig LLC, a leading provider of cross-media publishing and communication services in industries ranging from residential housing to book publishing to cancer care. Mr. Uhlig is married with three children and resides in Kansas City. He is currently working on children’s books, ebooks and apps.
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